Apparatus for elevating and dumping the contents of containers



Oct. 2, 1951 Filed Sept. 30, 1948 H. C. HOUSE ET AL APPARATUS FORELEVATING AND DUMPING THE CONTENTS OF CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet l H. c.HOUSE ETAL 2,569,609 APPARATUSVFOR ELEVATING AND DUMPING THE CONTENTS OFCONTAINERS Filed Sept. 50, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 iii I J g a NVEZZRS:

- B M @F Patented Oct. 2, 1951 .KPPARATUSTORELEVATINGANDDUMPING THECONTENTS OF CONTAINERS Howard 0.,EHOuse and Frederick House, Bufi'alo',N. Y assignors to-Jacob House-6k Sons,:Bufialo,

.N. Y., apartnership ApplitzationSepteiribr 30, 1948',"SCiiaPNOFSBQUZ'Claims. (Cl. 214-41) :Thiszinvention relates to apparatus :for elevating and dumping the contents of containers and more particularly :to:lsuch apparatus, :for liftin bags made of 'paper or .:c1'oth,1themouths :of which have beeniopened and:goartlyinverting the. bags at anelevatedastation so .as;;to discharge: the contents, such as sugar, overthe elevated rim:of a'storage bin orthopper.

Another object .of. rthexinvention is. .to :provide such apparatuswhich. will handle bags-of any weight and eliminate ;the heavy; manual:work 10f filling lhigh bins With;the contents "of such bags. 1 Anotherobject ,-is toiiprovide such' app which is movable .or portable and canreadily be movedfrom place to placeto operate in conjunction withdifferenttstprage bins or hoppers.

Another object is. to provide such apparatus which occupies littlefioorspace and can be .arranged close to-the side .of the bin .or hopper tobefilled.

Another aim is to provide-such apparatus which lifts the bags to a high.elevation and .at'this elevation inverts .them .s'ufiiciently .to..dump the contents of the bag and substantially empty the same.

Another object is to provide such apparatus which discharges thecontents of the bags fully without dropping -the bag, which bagisreturned in'its' normal upright position *tofioor level.

Another purpose is to provide such apparatus which is easily .:loaded,the bagsbeing -requ'ired to be lifted only afewinches-"fromthefioor andswung, inanupright position,"directly into the carrier which elevatesthefilledbags.

Another object is to provide such apparatus which is balanced'sothatthere is nodanger 'of the structure overturning even whenirregularities in floor slopes are encountered and-in which the bag isalso inverted by rotation about its-center of gravity so as to requirelittle power for this operation.

Another aim isto provide av carrier with counter-weightingso as to swingto a normally upright loading position during itsrising andzreturnmovements along the elevator structure.

.Another aimis to: provide such apparatus which islight in weightandlowin cost and composed of few parts which are "of sturdyconstruction-so that the apparatus will operateunder conditions ofsevere and constant use without getting out of order or requiringrepairs.

Other objects and'advantages will appear-from the followingdescription-and drawings in which:

.Fig. 1 is a vertical front elevational view of apparatus for elevating.and discharging bags of paper or cloth and constructed in accordancewithathepresent invention.

:.Eig. -2 isiaitopl planwiew thereof.

.Fig. 3 is zan'ienlarged .ihorizontal section taken on;1ine:3-'-:3 Fig.1.

.Fig. ie isa-side elevational viewzthereof.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical seo tiontakenon-linefifigiFigirl.

.Eig. 16 .:is a verticalssection ataken on line 16-5-16, Eig.;-1.

.L'Ihe apparatus lforming 'theisubject .of: the :prlesent cinvention:ccmprises sa movable pr aportable frameworksupporting .a iverticalmovable :carrier which normally swings to. .a glgenerallyauprightposition :in which-itrcan be honvenie'n'tly loaded at ithe'rfioor with a'cloth :or :papersbag .of sugar or the like, "the mouth of ithe'bagbeing opened. As the carrier :reaches :aipredetermined elevation itisswung around the :center of gravity of the filled bag to a partly-inverted position ao as-to dump thesugarfrom the bag -over theelevatedof a storage :binor feed hopper, the carrier being designed to retainlthe =bag-'and to permit the emptying i of substanti-ally all of' thecontents thereof. 0n dow-nvvard. movement of the 'carrier itassumes itsoriginal "upright position so-that at the loading station the-empty bagcan bereadily removedand replacedWith-a filled bag.

'Ihe framework' of the apparatus comprises -'a base" part i i}constructed of side-beams l-lare -'of inverted- L-shaped form "in crosssection and; have their horizontal flanges projecting -outwardly andhaving a rear ;-top plate l2 whichjis also =L-shaped' in cross section;this plate being welded-ion otherwise secured to the horizontalfiangespf thes'ide beams H and having aivertical flange welded orotherwise securedtotthe rear ends'thereof. Thelbase l'llj is Shown asupported by .four casters 13 suitably secured to ,the under sides .ofthe horizontalflan'ges of "the -side beams [1, .these castersv,pie'rniitting1the, structure to. he rolled fromplace "to. place to Iload difierentflbins orhoppers or toibe stored out of the Way whennot'in use.

. '.'Io..the inner faceiofeach .of the .sideibeams Ll] is-secured, asEby welding, a .vei ticalrrail l .5,,,th'se' rails being io'f channel,shape in cross. section with their channels opposing. ,each other. The".connection between eachraill-lfi andits .side railLlQl suitably.-.bolted toithese parts. and theuppenends of these walls -.are showngasiconnected by a press A bar 48. The structure iis shown asstrengthened erally at 26 and which is normally arranged in the fullline position shown in the drawings. In this position the pan has a rearwall 2| provided with a forwardly projecting rim including a bottom wall22, side walls 23 and converging upper walls 24 which define an opening25 at the upper end of the carrier which is less than the width of thebag but is of suflicient size to permit discharge of the contents fromthe bag when the pan or carrier is partly inverted. In the loadingposition the pan 20 is arranged, in the full line position shown, at thebottom of the structure and to retain the bag in the carrier when it isinverted, a plurality of cleats 26 preferably of rubber are fastened toits rear wall 2|. The carrier '20 is also provided on its bottom wall 22with a counterweight 21 to bring the pan to the normal full lineposition shown when the same is released. In this position a pair ofguide rollers 28 on the side walls 23 of the carrier engage and ridealong the outer faces of the front flanges of the channel shaped guiderails l5.

The carrier is guided for vertical movement along the side rails l andfor this purpose is provided on its opposite sides with a pair of stubshafts 29 which project outwardly from the side walls 23 of the carrierin axial alinement with each other and are journalled in travelers orsliders 30 arranged in and guided by the opposing channels of the siderails l5. The stub shafts 29 are fixed to the carrier through a U-shapedholder 3| which embraces the front and side walls 2|, 23 of the carrierand is suitably secured thereto and to the legs of which the stub shafts29 are secured to project outwardly from the side walls 23 of thecarrier. The end of each of the stub shafts 29 is journalled in abearing 32 secured to the corresponding traveler 30, each traveler beingprovided with a pair of parallel flanges 33 which fit within the sideflanges of the corresponding channel shaped rail l5 and with a pair ofend flanges 34 which ride against the edges of the flanges of thecorresponding channel rail l5. Between the carrier 20 and thecorresponding side rail 5 each of the stub shafts 23 carries a pulley 35which is freely rotatable thereon and which can be held in place bysuitable collars 36, 38 and 39 as shown.

The carrier 20 is raised and lowered along the side rails l5 by areversible electric motor 40 mounted on the top cross plate |2 of thebase of the framework anad driving a pair of drums 4| and 42. One end ofan elevating line or cable 43 is fixed to the drum 4| and extendsupwardly over a pulley 44 loose on a stub shaft 45 carried by thetriangular reinforcing plates I9 at the corresponding side of theframework. From this pulley 44 the elevating line 43 extends downwardlyunder the pulley 35 on the corresponding side of the carrier 20 andthence this or cable extends upwardly over a pulley 46 at the forwardend of the stub shaft 45. From the pulley 46 the line or cable 43extends horizontally along the front face of the cross bar [8 to apulley 48 loosely mounted on the forward end of a stub shaft 49 carriedby the corresponding triangular reinforcing plates I9. From the pulley48 the line or cable extends downwardly under the pulley 35 at thecorresponding side of the carrier 20 and from this pulley the cableextends upwardly over a pulley 56 mounted on the rear end of the stubshaft 49. From this pulley 50 the cable extends horizontally across therear side of the cross bar l8 to a pulley 5| mounted on the rear end ofthe stub shaft 45 and thence this cable extends downwardly and isattached to the drum 42. In order to tighten the cable 43 a turnbuckle52 can be provided in its horzontal stretch between the pulleys 46 and48.

Suitable limit switches (not shown) can be provided for limiting theupward and downward movements of the pan or carrier, the electricalcircuit also preferably including the usual stop and start switch sothat the movement of the carrier can be halted and restarted at anypoint of its travel.

In order to tip the carrier 20 to a partly inverted position when itreaches the stop of the elevator structure, a line or chain 56 issecured by an eye bolt 58 to the front wall 2| of the pan near the upperor discharge end thereof and is secured by an eye 59 to the rear end ofthe base ll] of the framework. This line 56 is shorter than the lengthof travel of the carrier along the rails l5 and hence when the carrierapproaches its elevated dumping station, the upper end of this pan orcarrier is restrained so as to cause it to swing to the dumping positionshown by dotted lines in Fig. 4.

In the operation of the apparatus a heavy paper or cloth bag (notshown), of, say, sugar, is opened at its upper end and is lifted andswung into the generally upright carrier 20 which is positioned near thefloor as shown in full lines in the drawings. The weight of the bagrests principally upon the bottom 22 of this carrier and the bag leansagainst the cleats 26 on the rear wall 2| of this carrier. The operatorthen presses the start button (not shown) to energize the motor 40. Thismotor rotates the drums 4| and 42 so as to wind up the opposite ends ofthe cable 43. Since this cable passes over the overhead pulleys 44, 46,48, 5.0 and 5| on the framework and under the pulleys 35 on the carrier,the shortening of the effective length of this cable 43 draws upwardlythe carrier pulleys 35 and moves the carrier 20 upwardly, this movementbeing permitted by the travelers 30 which are guided for upward movementin the channels of the vertical guide rails l5. While moving upwardlythe carrier 20 maintains the position shown by full lines, its rollers28 riding along the forward faces of the guide rails l5.

As the carrier approaches the upward limit of its travel the chain 56 isdrawn taut and since this restrains the upper part of the carrier 20against further upward movement while the upward movement of its bottompart continues, the carrier is caused to tip rearwardly. As the carriercontinues its upward movement this tipping is increased until thecarrier assumes the partly inverted position shown by dotted lines inFig. 4; When the carrier reaches this position the motor 40 istie-energized, either manually or by a limit switch (not shown).

In this partly inverted position of the carrier 20 -as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 4, the contents of the bag spill out of its open mouthinto the elevated bin or hopper (not shown) into which the'contents' ofthe bag are to be dis charged. However, the bag itself, if of paper, isprevented from sliding out of the carrier/both because of therestraining effect provided by the cleats 26 and also because theshoulders of the bag at the opposite sides of its open mouth are engagedby the converging parts 24 of the side walls 23 of the carrier. If thebag is of cloth and hence less stifi than a paper bag, the bag isretained aga-inst sliding into-the bin or I hopper. largely by .thecleats;

After the bag has be'en emptied the operator reverses the'motor 40 :soas to unwind the opposite ends of thecabl 13 from the drum il .and 42.This increases the effective length of this cable and permits thecarrier to descend by gravity with its travelers 3!] moving along andguided by the opposed channels of-the side rails I15. During thisdownward movement th counterweight 21 causes the carrier to swingcounterclockwise as viewed inFig. 4,-thisswinging being permitted by thelowering of the axis of rotation of the carrier with reference -to thepoint-of'attachment-SB of-the cable b6. After this axis passes belowthis point of attachment-58 the counterweight Zl causes the rollers 28teengage the forward faces of the guide rails IS, the carrier therebybeing brought to the angular position shown by full lines in the drawingand the carrier continuing it descent while so positioned. When thecarrier reaches the bottom of the rails the motor 40 is de-energized,either manually or by a limit switch (not shown) and the empty bag isremoved therefrom and replaced with a filled bag to repeat theoperation. It will be noted, however, that if the motor is notde-energized exactly at the lower limit of movement of the carrier, theonly effect is to start to rewind the opposite end of the cable 43 onthe drums 4| and 42 to start an upward movement of the carrier.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides avery simple apparatus for elevating and dumping the contents ofcontainers, such as heavy bags, which can, be readily moved from placeto place, which is free from the danger of toppling even when unevenfloors are encountered, and which is safe and positive in its action andserves substantially to completely empty the contents of the containersat a high elevation and without dropping the containers into theelevated bin or hopper into which the contents are dumped.

We claim.

1. Apparatus for elevating and dumping the contents of containers, whichcomprises a supporting structure having generally parallel and verticalspaced guide members, a traveler guided for vertical movement along eachof said guide members, a carrier for said containers interposed betweensaid guide members and having a rear wall and a rim projecting forwardlyfrom the bottom and sides of said rear wall to provide bottom and sidewalls, means pivotally connecting the side Walls of said carrier withsaid travelers to swing about a generally horizontal axis, means formoving said travelers up and down said guide members, means restrainingthe movement of the upper part of said carrier on approaching the upperlimit of movement of said travelers to swing said carrier about saidaxis and partly invert said container to dump the contents thereof, andmeans arranged to retain said container on said carrier while dumpingsaid contents, comprising inwardly converging portions rovided at theupper ends of said side walls and arranged to engage said container anda series of transverse cleats secured to the forward fac of said rearwall and engageable with said container.

2. Apparatus for elevating and dumping the contents of containers, whichcomprises a supporting structure having generally parallel and verticalspaced guide members, a traveler guided 6 for-verticalmovement along:each ofsaid guide members, acarrier for said containers interposedbetween said guide members and having a rear wall and'a rimprojectingforwardly from the bottornand sides of said rear wall toprovide bottom and side walls, coaxial stub shafts fixed tosaid's'ide'walls and projecting horizontally outwardly-therefrom, ahorizontal bearing in each traveler and receiving the corresponding stubshaft; a pulley loose on each of said stub shafts, overhead pulleyscarried by said guide members adjacent to the upper ends thereof, anelevator line passinggenerally parallel with said guide members-undersaid pulleys-on said stub shafts andover said overhead pulleys, meansarranged to decrease and increase the effective length of said elevatorline to raise and lower said carrier, and" means restraining the upperpart of said carrier 'on approaching the upper limit of movement of saidtravelers to swing said carrier about said axis and partly invert saidcontainer to dump the contents thereof.

3. Apparatus for elevating and dumping the,

contents of containers, which comprises a movable base, a supportingstructure having generally parallel and vertical spaced guide channelbars arranged with their channels opposing each other and a cross barconnecting the upper ends of said channel bars, a traveler movable alongeach of said bars and having a pair of parallel flanges arranged insideof and guided along the opposing faces of the flanges thereof and a pairof coplanar flanges guided along the edges thereof, a carrier for saidcontainers interposed between said guide bars, means pivotallysupporting said carrier on said travelers to swing about a generallyhorizontal axis arranged adjacent the center of gravity of the carrierloaded with one of said containers, means arranged to move saidtravelers up and down said guide bars, means restraining the movement ofone part of said carrier on approaching the upper limit of movement ofsaid travelers to swing said carrier about said axis and partly invertsaid container to dump the contents therefrom, and means on said carrierand arranged to retain the container thereon while dumping saidcontents.

4. Apparatus for elevating and dumping the contents of containers, whichcomprises a movable base, a supporting structure having generallyparallel and vertical spaced guide channel bars arranged with theirchannels opposing each other and a cross bar connecting the upper endsof said channel bars, a traveler movable along each of said bars andhaving a pair of parallel flanges arranged inside of and guided alongthe opposing faces of the flanges thereof and a pair of coplanar flangesguided along the edges thereof, a carrier for said containers interposedbetween said guide bars and having a rear wall and a rim projectingforwardly from the bottom and sides of said rear wall to provide bottomand side walls, coaxial stub shafts fixed to said side walls to projecthorizontally outwardly therefrom and journalled in said travelers, meansconnected with said stub shafts and cross bar and arranged to move saidtravelers up and down said guide bars, and means restraining the upperpart of said carrier on approaching the upper limit of movement of saidtravelers to swing said carrier about said axis and partly invert saidcontainer to dump the contents thereof.

5. Apparatus for elevating and dumping the contents of containers, whichcomprises a movable base, a supporting structure having generallyparallel and vertical spaced guide members and a cross bar connectingthe upper ends of said guide members, a traveler guided for verticalmovement along each of said guide members, a carrier for said containersinterposed between said guide members and having a rear wall and a rimprojecting forwardly from the bottom and sides of said rear wall toprovide bottom and side walls, means pivotally connecting the side wallsof said carrier with said travelers to swing about a generallyhorizontal axis, a loose pulley on each side of said carrier coaxialwith said pivotally connecting means, overhead pulleys carried by saidcross bar, an elevator line passing generally parallel with said guidemembers under said pulleys on said carrier and over said overheadpulleys, a pair of drums on said base, means connecting the oppositeends of said elevator line to said drums to be wound thereon in onedirection of rotation of said drums, a motor on said base REFERENCESCITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7 985,751 Smith et a1 Feb. 28,1911 1,007,483 Peirce Oct. 31, 1911 1,570,302 Hale Jan. 19, 19262,388,987 Morrison Nov. 13, 1945 2,470,340 Cook et a1 May 17, 1949

